Beer: Reviews & Ratings

A caramel and light chocolate nose.Pours dark brown under a tan, finely bubbled 1/2" head that leaves a ring of lace with each drink.The fruity prune chocolate palate suggests a cake but the initial sweetness dries out and ends with a slightly astringent drying finish.Medium to medium full body with medium carbonation. (323 characters)

Pours a deep molasses or maple syrup brown body with ruby hues beneath the generous tan head which slowly dissolves to leave a constant sticky lacing about the glass.

Sweet brown sugar and molasses float from the glass as advertised. Perhaps some dark fruitiness like plum is there as well. There does not appear to be much of a hop presence, perhaps some earthy notes but that's about all.mm

The flavor is a bit sweeter than the nose lead on with intensified brown sugar and molasses with a hint of maple syrup. There is a dark bready malt quality as well- like marble, with a biscuity quality but the beer finishes as sweet as it started.

On the fuller side in body with generous carbonation and a sweet, smooth finish.

A nice example of the style overall, not just specific to American Browns. I would argue that despite being a west coast brew it really borders on the English style if you swapped out the nuttiness for sweet sugar, but no real hop presence I could detect. (981 characters)

Taste: plenty of milk chocolate with some roast coffee behind. Some brown sugar and molasses add to the ensemble.

Aftertaste: a touch more brown sugar on the finish, but very little bitterness from the hops to meter it out.

Mouth feel: medium in body with a lower- to- moderate carbonation. Quite smooth in texture, but I think it could have done with a tad more carbonation.

Overall: a good combination of rough coffee and smooth chocolate, with some sharp molasses and brown sugar. The only thing holding this brew back for me by far is the price of AU$13 a bottle. A bit steep... (883 characters)

Appearance: Pours a beautiful, deep, dark mahogany brown color with three quarters of a finger of off-white head that quickly dissolved into a thin lacing of foam that gripped the sides of the glass and formed wispy clouds that partially covered the top of the beer,

Aroma: Very malty and bready with strong notes of chocolate and molasses.

Taste: Again, very malty, but with some notes of roasted barley. Some smokiness, which is nice, but not overpowering like a rauchbier. There’s also notes of chocolate and caramel. Slightly sweet in the middle, finished with some slight hoppy bitterness. Very well balanced.

Mouthfeel: Medium thin, slightly watery. Hardly no carbonation. With an ABV of 6.3%, there’s just a very slight hint of alcohol on the palate.

Overall: Very solid brown ale. Very tasty, nicely balanced and very easy to drink. I’d be very happy to have this beer again. (934 characters)

Poured this brew from a 22oz bomber. Its a dark ale with a quickly dissipating tan head. In the light this shit is a beautiful dark red. Really amazing color. Excited carbonation. Pretty nice aroma too quite sweet and malty, molasses. The hops are definitely coming through as well. It's a very nice drinkable beer. Chocolate, roasted malt, and some alcohol but it's hard to really describe the flavor because it's kinda nondescript but pleasant. When this first hit my palate it came across as quite bitter but I adjusted to it after two or three sips and it becomes quite drinkable. I'm a hop head, this isn't a hoppy beer but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. It's a great brown Ale! (689 characters)

brown. just a dark brown. little head.smell is incredibly docile, like a typical American adjunct.... I know it's not, though...taste is full, round and rich. not spectacular, but typical, trendy and decent. very easy to drink, decent malts, balance; easy on the palate and at 6.3%, I could do this one in succession.overall, I like this. while I was into the Belgians for a while, I really think my favorite style is a nut brown, or just brown (as classified), ale. this is really standard for a brown ale, but is still darned good. which makes it so good. little bit o' brown sugar, some nuts, maybe? but just a really tasty drinking brew. (644 characters)

Mouthfeel- A little hefty for the style, and abv but ok, slight alcohol warmth, moderate carb

Overall- Very nice, some of the malts and brownsugar/molasess could be more pronounced from one another, also not sure how fresh this is. Not sure I'd get it again but I am glad I tried it. (637 characters)

This is a decent beer that poured to a very dark brown with little head. Smell was a mild malt with a not a lot of hops showing. Once again it was the malt that generated the flavor -- hops were not a major player. Mouthfeel was ok thru the finish. Overall a good beer that I would not buy again. (296 characters)

Overall: this one seems under flavored and watery but I guess it's fine for the style. Low ABV but still barely tastes like alcohol is even in this one. Drinkable and better than most in the genre. (532 characters)

A - Pours with a small head of off-white foam on top of a clear, brown body with amber highlights.

S - Toasty malt and a hint of chocolate with a bit of spicy hop character.

T - Thick, dark bready malt up front with some brown sugar and molasses in the middle. A bit of piney hop character shows up towards the finish and moderate bitterness works nicely to balance the thick malt.

D - Nicely done, this isn't an India brown ale by any means, but it is a bit hoppier and better balanced than most sweeter brown ales. Nothing over the top going on here, but it is flavorful and quite drinkable. (671 characters)

On cask at Rattle N Hum. Pours a dark brown color with over an inch of frothy head. The aroma is malty and boozey with some brown sugar and caramel. Tastes malty with a nice alcohol presence which is surprising since the ABV isn't all that high. Some sweet brown sugar. Creamy mouthfeel. Works well on cask. Overall, nothing special but a good Brown Ale. (354 characters)

6.3% ABV confirmed. Acquired at a local SoCal beer store. 1 pint 6 fl oz brown glasss bottle with branded pressure cap served into a Uinta pilsner glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Expectations are above average; this is a surprisingly tough style to pull off but Bear Republic makes some great beers.

Served straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a four finger khaki colour head of nice cream and thickness, and pretty good (4+ minute) retention. Soft smooth consistency. Body colour is a rather dark amber. Semitransparent and semitranslucent. Generally appealing for a brown; there are no overt flas here. Nothing unique or special. Looking forward to trying it.

Sm: Huh. Not what I expected, though not in a bad way. Some sort of weird berry. Are we certain Lost Coast didn't brew this? More nuts come through as it warms. Hazelnut, chestnut. Dark malts. Little hop character. No yeast or alcohol comes through. It's not a great aroma, but at least it's got nutty notes - which is what I look for in a good brown. An above average strength aroma.

Mf: Smooth and wet, just as it should be. Adequate carbonation. Decent thickness. It's a bit syrupy; that molasses might have been a bad call. Decent body. Complements the flavour in a general sense.

Dr: Drinkable but forgettable. I definitely wouldn't pick this one up again. Hides its above average ABV okay. Pretty mediocre stuff considering the pedigree of the brewery. I'll finish this bottle, but I wouldn't recommend it to friends. Mundane.

I've already firmly established that Bear Republic handle hops well, but how will they fair on a maltier style? Very well, actually. Tribute Ale pours brown. Yeah, a brown pour for this brown ale. The aroma is rather straight-forward, offering a slightly nutty robust maltiness. The taste follows, but with some hops not as susceptible on the nose offer a deep earthy, resiny character that compliments the malts very well. The mouthfeel is on the light side of medium and gently carbonated, and the drinkability is great. Overall, Bear Republic do a great, fairly traditional brown ale. (587 characters)

Poured from a 650ml bomber bottle. Poured a light brown with red tints. Lots of enticing chocolate, caramel, toffee and vanilla notes on the nose. The mouthfeel is nice and round and balanced. The palate offers flavours of strong dark fruit, coffee, toasted marshmallow with a good bitter backing. (297 characters)

t - Tastes of chocolate, roasted malts, caramel malts, toasted malts, burnt malts, nuts, sugar, dark fruits. More chocolate and less nuts, I think I like the nose slightly better, though the taste is still quite good.

o - Overall I thought this was a really good brown ale; really glad I got to try it. Some nice nuts in the smell and chocolate in the taste, with caramel throughout, and easy to drink. Would definitely order it again. (903 characters)

dark brown color with a small off white head. not much on the nose, some slight malt aromas but not much to speak of. taste is quite enjoyable actually, good hop profile with the a nice lingering coffee/chocolate kind of taste going for it. very drinkable. medium bodied, medium carbonation.

A: pours a deep brown with a finger of dense light tan head that has decent retention and modest lacingS: smells of roast malt, caramel sweetness and some slight piney hops T: tastes of light roastyness, a bit nutty some caramel, a bit of brown sugar, and some cocoa powder. swallow brings a bit of alcohol, hop bite, and some nuttynessM: smooth and slightly creamy with a medium mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Bear Republic beers always have a great mouthfeelO: a very solid brown ale. it has great flavor and nice complexity. Pretty happy I picked this one up and it was priced very well for a bomber. (608 characters)

T: Woody malt tone. Subdued, but punchy hop. Just a touch of brown sugar, tea leaves, and a bite of licorice.

M: Hearty malt, and a pungent and peaty lingering finish.

D: Goes down easy, but better savored.

Atmosphere is really good. Appearance characterized by dark body, nice carbonation, and a frothy top. Lots of sticky lacing. Nose is simple but well done. Flavor is pungent and woody, with a medium hop, and some sweet and bitter components. Overall, this is a really good quaff. (810 characters)